Passwords: What if Everything You Know Is Wrong?


Every time there’s a notable cybersecurity breach, someone (even me) writes a comprehensive primer on the proper way to create “secure” passwords. Lather, rinse, repeat. Until a few years ago, everyone (including me) based their password advice on a 2003 paper from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), with the catchy title “NIST Special Publication 800-63.” The paper recommended that passwords be cryptic, contain special characters, and be as close to nonsense as possible.

I was in a camp I called “How to Make a Cryptic Password You Can Easily Remember.” The short version was this: Take a phrase you know, such as a favorite quote from a movie, and use the first letter of each word. For example, Sheriff Brody’s famous line from Jaws, “I think we’re gonna need a bigger boat,” becomes 1twgn@bb. The trick was using Leet (a technique where letters are replaced by numbers and symbols; see my post from July 2012, “Yahoo! Hacked: What You Need To Do Now”) to add the numbers and special characters. But as you can see from the example, a password made in this way is total nonsense to everyone but you — unless you forget your favorite quote.

That was then

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Angry Birds Set to Lay Golden Egg With $2 Billion IPO Value


The angry birds at Rovio Entertainment Oy are set to lay a golden egg for the company’s founders.

The firm is planning an initial public offering as early as next month that could value the maker of the “Angry Birds” mobile games and movie at about $2 billion, said people familiar with the matter.

The company could raise about $400 million from a local market listing, the people say, asking not to be identified as the details aren’t public. No final decisions have been made and the company could also choose to stay private for longer, they say.

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'Courage for Violence, Thanks to Donald Trump': A German Newspaper Responds to Charlottesville


Ad Age “Media Guy” columnist Simon Dumenco’s media roundup for the morning of Monday, Aug. 14:

First I’ll direct your attention to my colleague Angela Doland’s Ad Age Wake-Up Call post from early this morning for her digest of some big media and marketing developments (including Shonda Rhimes’ move to Netflix after 15 years of making hit shows for ABC). As for the other interlinked stories that continue to grip the global media, well, let’s get started …

1. Helpful: “A timeline of the deadly weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia,” via WLS-TV, the ABC affiliate in Chicago. It begins in February of this year with “The Charlottesville City Council votes to remove a statue of Confederate war hero Robert E. Lee.”

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Target Agrees to Buy Software Company as It Chases Amazon


Target, looking to improve its digital business amid increased competition from Amazon, has agreed to acquire a software company that manages local and same-day deliveries.

The discount chain is buying Grand Junction, a San Francisco-based startup that links retailers and other distributors to a network of more than 700 carriers across North America. Grand Junction currently handles the same-day delivery service for Target’s store in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood.

The deal is part of a broader overhaul of logistics operations at Minneapolis-based Target. The company aims to enhance the efficiency and profitability of a web business that has suffered setbacks in recent years, including a data breach, website outages and the departure of digital chief Jason Goldberger in 2016. Though Target’s online sales rose 22% in its most recently reported quarter, that was well behind Wal-Mart’s 63% growth.

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Charlottesville Fallout: Google Decides to Boot Daily Stormer Site After Three Hours


A website that describes itself as “The World’s Most Genocidal Republican Website” and includes sections titled “Jewish Problem” and “Race War” became a hot potato for prominent web-hosting brands after its coverage of the violence in Charlottesville, Va.

Critics used Twitter to call on GoDaddy to drop the site, Daily Stormer, after it published a crude, negative article about the young woman, Heather Heyer, who died Saturday protesting white nationalists. GoDaddy agreed:

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Grey Matter: What Shonda Rhimes' Move to Netflix Means for ABC


With three shows on the ABC schedule for next season and two more in the works, Shonda Rhimes dramas filled with salacious sex and scintillating scandal have come to epitomize the alphabet network. So as the showrunner ends her 15-year relationship with ABC and decamps for Netflix, the broadcaster — and its advertisers — face with a new urgency to locate its next big hit.

As things stand. ABC’s “TGIT” lineup on Thursday nights might as well be called TGFS: Thank God for Shonda.

Rhimes’ four shows last season — “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal,” “How To Get Away With Murder” and the now-canceled “The Catch” — accounted for 20% of ABC’s primetime scripted gross ratings points and 44% of its drama GRPs.

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Watch the Newest Ads on TV From Monster Energy, Windex, Sprint and More


Every weekday, we bring you the Ad Age/iSpot Hot Spots, new TV commercials tracked by iSpot.tv, the real-time TV ad measurement company with attention and conversion analytics from 10 million smart TVs. The ads here ran on national TV for the first time overr the weekend.

A few highlights: MMA fighter Conor McGregor gets all sweaty — and presumably thirsty and tired — as he endures a brutal workout; fortunately, he’s got a can of Monster Energy to chug down. An unwitting family gets hooked (literally) by Verizon in a wry spt for Sprint. And Windex serves up two emotional spots, both set to Grace VanderWaal’s “Beautiful Thing,” that are part of a multipart story arc (more installments to come) titled “The Story of Lucy.”

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Top 90 Eco Ideas in August – From Sustainable Meal Delivery Kits to Reusable Takeout Containers (TOPLIST)

(TrendHunter.com) As the August 2017 eco trends demonstrate, restaurants and other food purveyors are warming up to the idea of more eco-friendly ways of doing business. No longer are they simply focused on the issue…

Top 25 Wearable Tech Ideas in August – From Car Brand Smartwatches to Contactless Payment Watches (TOPLIST)

(TrendHunter.com) The top August 2017 wearable tech ideas offer a diverse look into the future of everything from smartwatches that offer contactless payment capabilities to wearable athletic masks that promise to…

Clay Matthews III "Football VUEing Family” (2017) :30 (USA)

Super Bowl champion and Green Bay linebacker Clay Matthews III and his family stars in this spot for Playstaion VUE, touting the services multi-device usage. In it, Matthews stars with, his Hall of Fame father, Clay Jr., who played 19 seasons in the NFL, mother Leslie, brother Casey, who spent four seasons in the NFL, and sister Jennifer. All get to watch their favorite shows on five different devices all the same time. This ad was created by ESPN’s in-house agency.
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KFC "Big Chicken, Small Movie" (2017) 5:10 (USA)

The Big Chickenis a feature in Marietta, Georgia, a suburb just outside of Atlanta. It’s a fifty-fix foot tall giant chicken as part of a KFC there. I used to drive by it all the time when I lived in Atlanta. Not only is it a well-known landmark, having been there since 1963, but it’s also been given a two million dollar renovation after suffering some storm damage back in the 90’s. The chicken reopened back in May of this year. To celebrate this, W+K came up with a heartwarming story of a nerdy boy who loves his giant friend and becomes the butt of everyone’s jokes until his friend becomes real and they have fun adventures together and then the town realizes what they were missing and when the chicken comes back, both he and the boy are celebrated as heroes. It’s such a nice story with cute animation that feels so much more like a Chipotle ad in its cuteness. I was secretly hoping for some heartwarming announcement at the end. Something along the lines of “We love chickens, so we’re now only serving organic, hormone-free ones.” You know. Some big brand statement to go along with the five minute animation piece. But no. It’s just an ad. Celebrating the renovation of a big chicken mascot. In suburban Georgia. W+K CD and Snellville Georgia native Jason Kreher puts it best: “It’s every child’s dream to one day grow up and create a film based on an enormous metal corporate mascot. Today, I am that child. The child who grew up.” If sources are correct though, this is the beginning of a new campaign in which every week The Big Chicken will be played by a different comedian, none of them from Atlanta. First up will be Dane Cook. He seems to fit the brand well.
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MLP: Friendship is Magic – Best Friend Report Card (2017) 2:27 (USA)

MLP: Friendship is Magic - Best Friend Report Card (2017) 2:27 (USA)
Hasbro’s My Little Pony launches its first-ever brand anthem campaign, created by Grey New York, just in time for Back To School. Parents, get your kleenex, it’s gonna get sappy. If you know anything about the My Little Pony universe, it’s that everything revolves around friendship. The brands tagline is: “Friendship is Magic.” In this clip, unsuspecting parents are lured into school to hear how their child was doing at school. But instead of meeting a teacher, they get a report delivered from their child’s best friend. Telling the parents about their best friend, as it turns out, is the best report card of them all because the parents get to hear how their child has turned into a great friend and fellow human. Grey New York Deputy Chief Creative Officer Rob Lenois said:

“We wanted to show parents a side of their child they have never seen before. Through the eyes of their best friend. We hope this social experiment will remind parents around the world how impactful friendship is in their child’s life. Now and into the future”.

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NFL – The Handoff / Handoff across America (2017) (USA)

NFL - The Handoff / Handoff across America (2017) (USA)
If you thought that American Football stopped in the summer, well you’d be wrong. 
Edited by Cut+Run’s Joel Miller and directed by Tim K of Bullitt for Translation, “The Handoff” is a fun, upbeat showcase of all things football in the so-called “offseason.” The sound design is fun too, make you want to join them throwing a few balls around. Or maybe I’ll just man the BBQ. 
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Helen Hughes promoted to Head of Advertising

Framestore is pleased to announce the promotion of Helen Hughes to the role of Head of Advertising, London.

Helen has been an integral part of Framestore’s Production department since 2010, leading a growing team of producers across Framestore’s core VFX artistry. Helen’s passion and commitment to the craft of well-executed, high quality advertising have seen her amass an impressive roster of clients, turning out major campaigns as well as a string of iconic James Bond title sequences.

The creation of the Head of Advertising role speaks to Framestore’s heritage in crafting the finest commercial work, in tandem with its esteemed Film division, a new Television team and a wealth of digital content spanning dark rides, mixed realities and experiential installations. Helen continues to report to Helen Stanley, Managing Director, and Lottie Cooper, Deputy Managing Director, as part of the global management team overseeing the outputs of Framestore’s expanding Advertising and Content divisions.

Helen Hughes is supported in her new role by the appointment of Jordi Bares and Ben Cronin as Creative Directors in Advertising. Jordi joined the company from Glassworks in May 2017, bringing with him a vibrant heritage in VFX and architecture, and a portfolio of groundbreaking commercial hits. Ben Cronin joins the Advertising leadership team from within Framestore, having risen the ranks from junior to VFX Supervisor during his tenure at the company. His wealth of experience leading and mentoring large VFX teams on headline projects for the likes of Sky, Sainsbury’s and Pepsi, will carry forth into his new role.

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How A.I. Is Creating Building Blocks to Reshape Music and Art

Project Magenta, a team at Google, is crossbreeding sounds from different instruments based on neural networks and building networks that can draw.

How a Conservative TV Giant Is Ridding Itself of Regulation

The Sinclair Broadcast Group and the Trump administration’s F.C.C. chief see eye-to-eye on the need to unleash television. Both are reaping big rewards.

GGB: True Colors

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